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2015-02-09 - Gonna Be A Hero
7 am on a Monday, a door slams open in a low-rent area in Queens. Late as always, Cassie Lang bolts out the door and down the steps to the sidewalk, heading for the subway. "No stops on the way!" shouts her mother from the window behind, which only causes Cassie's face to turn a bright red, which helps to hide the bruise on her chin slightly. She pelts down the street and out of her mother's sight, heading for the subway as she mutters under her breath. Something about hating her life, as she holds her school binder to her chest. Kara Zor-El taps Cassie's shoulder from behind. She's wearing civilian clothes and holding what looks like a gift basket. "Hey..." Cassie Lang turns and slows without accidentally falling or running into a post. Reacting well to surprise since she was five years old, she's got the good kind of reflexes, and she bounces on her heels a little as she looks at Kara with a tiny bit of hesitance in her eyes. "I'm in a monster rush, the subway is gonna leave," she says with a slight smirk and a wince as it aggravates her wound. "Ow." Cassie Lang waves a hand to Kara, holding her binder with the other arm. "Hi," she says, not sure what exactly to say. "My secret identity is obviously not holding up very well. What can I do you for, mighty hero type?" Kara Zor-El winces sympathetically, seeing the bruise. "Yeah um... don't worry about the train, I can fly you to wherever you're going. And I just wasnt sure where to find you so I did a lookover of the city until I spotted you." She looks at the gift basket in her hand, then at Cassie. "So... um... about yesterday...." She rubs the back of her head. Then holds out the gift basket to Cassie. "I wasnt myself. I'm really, really, really sorry." Kara Zor-El looks at the gift basket, then at Cassie as she holds it out to her. "It has fruit and candy and a little teddy bear thing, and a gift card to some place called Red Robin, which I actually thought was really funny, and um.... lessee... Something called Pez which I guess is another type of candy.... and something called Mad Libs, and some other stuff." Cassie Lang fingers her jaw a little, looking Kara over. She seems a bit confused, and says, "That would give me time to talk, if you wouldn't mind getting me there. Think I mighta missed the subway anyway, I'm like perpetually behind these days." She removes her hand from her jaw and places it on her hip, elbow jutting out to the side, and says, "Supergirl, honest, you don't gotta. I mean, sure, my mom had kittens and I think I'm gonna have to run away, but it's part 'a the game. Been around enough to see it happen, I'm pretty sure every hero gets mindwarped or telekinized or something sooner or later. Ooh, Pez.." she adds suddenly, peering into the basket. Looking up from the basket for a second as she's admiring the teddy bear, she adds, "So what happened to you anyway?" Kara Zor-El smiles a little, awkwardly. "There was something on that boat called red kryptonite. It's.... sorta complicated. Like radioactive parts of my planet that do weird... um... random things to me and my cousin." She watches as Cassie peruses the gift basket, and continues talking. "Not really sure how it got there but there's like... three theories we have. Either someone planted it there for me or my cousin. Or somehow kryptonite landed on this planet hundreds of years before Krypton exploded. Or there's a third theory involving time travelling pirates. That's unfortunatly also a real possibility. Normal people just don't have to even think stuff like this.... blah." She looks at the bruise again. "I don't even really remember everything that happened. It's all hazy to me." Then adds, "Oh .... and you can just call me Kara by the way." Cassie Lang gives the teddy bear a hug that looks pretty genuine, closing her eyes for a moment. Looks like she needs more of that, and she tucks it in with her binder after a moment. "Cassie," she says in response. "Sounds like your life is all kinds of interesting. Do all heroes have ...active family lives?" She grins a bit over the bear. "Thanks by the way. And seriously, you're forgiven." Kara Zor-El shrugs a little, non-committedly. "My life is all kinds of weird, at least. And weird can be interesting... I guess." She tilts her head. "Active family lives?" she asks curiously, not understanding what Cassie meant. She again looks at the bruise. "Really wish I had some sort of super-healing-other-people power." Cassie Lang sighs a little, wondering if it would be okay to offer Supergirl a hug. "My family doesn't approve of me being in danger. 's why I have to be on time for everything, so they can check in on me and make sure I'm not out being superheroey. I just kind of wondered if your family worried too, and maybe how you deal with it, I guess. I can't live like this much longer...I want to DO things. Even if it does mean once in a while I get my lumps." She seems a mix of emotions, right now. Smiling about the bruise, as if it's nothing, but worried about a thousand other things. "I'm young, you know. We heal quick, us hoomans." Kara Zor-El shrugs a little, trying to not get upset about the question. "My parent were pretty strict - well my mom was. But I ... really miss it actually. Them worrying just means they care. My parents - they died when my planet exploded. Kal - er... Superman - he's the only family from Krypton that I still have." She changes the subject quickly to get herself more upbeat. "So um... they know you have powers but don't know you do superhero stuff?" Cassie Lang realizes she's going to be here a moment and looks behind her for someplace to lean against. She ends up leaning against a post, and hugs the bear and her school binder as she listens and thinks a bit. "Well...my dad's dead, so there's that," she says, looking away. "Mom and her new husband are worried I'll follow in his footsteps, I guess. They heard that I've been doing a little and freaked the hell out, and then I came home with this." She indicates the bruise. "Didn't go over well. Like you said, they worry. He's a cop so he knows I could get killed way too easily, but I can't just, like, NOT." Kara Zor-El nods sympathetically. "Sorry to hear that. About your dad, I mean. I know what you mean about needing to do something. So... I only know what happened second hand. It's really hazy, like I was drunk or something. What happened after I .... you know.." She makes a mock punching motion. Cassie Lang smiles. It's an honest smile, as if she changes moods fast. "Seriously Kara, can I give you a hug already? You're more upset about it than I am. I don't even get annoyed at this stuff, I dreamed most of my life to get punched by a telekinized hero in a grand duel, or stuff like that." She does seem a little sore though, rolling her jaw a bit, and spots her watch. Frowns just a little. Kara Zor-El looks at Cassie. "Of course I'm upset. I could have killed you or something." Then she sighs and nods a bit. "I could really use a hug, actually." She shakes her head. "Honestly, most of the time all these powers just terrify me. More the responsibility than the actual powers. It's too easy for me to hurt people if I'm not always making sure to hold back. I'm just not as good a person at this as my cousin." Cassie Lang nods quietly, looking thoughtful. Then she just pushes off from the post and hugs Kara, holding the super-girl as tight as she can. She sees someone hurting, she acts. "I imagine everyone tries to talk you to death when you say this stuff," she says gently, just hugging. Just being there for Kara for a while. Kara Zor-El accepts the hug and hugs back, shrugging a little at what Cassie says. "I don't say it to other people, actually. I mean I told my cousin once, and he was really understanding about it. Because ... well... he's just really great like that. But I don't tell anyone else. I'm always scared I'm going to break someone. Even the bad guys. Especially the ones with superstrength and invulnerability. I mean... it's not like holding back on a normal human being - if I hold back too much, it won't stop them. And if I don't hold back enough I could kill them... And don't even get me started on how I worry about me and my boyfriend." She takes a little while to just get hugged. Cassie Lang hugs as long as she feels Kara needs, but after a minute or so she pushes back and puts her hands on Kara's shoulders, looking the girl in the eyes. "When I grow big, I have no idea how to pick up a bad guy to not break ribs. Maybe you can give me lessons sometime. But I gotta break off, cuz if you listen real careful, you'll hear my school bell ringing..." She smiles lopsidely, showing a little bit of normal human chagrin. Kara Zor-El smiles a bit. "No worries. You won't be late. Which school?" she asks, putting her arm around Cassie's waist. "Hope you're not afraid of heights when you're not a giant...." When she's told the name of the school, she flies up with Cassandra, looks around, then makes a beeline towards the school. She's really fast, actually, but not like she normally is when she doesn't have a passenger Cassie Lang holds onto her teddy bear and makes sure she doesn't lose her papers. She's quite good at this passenger thing, molding her body so it's easiest to hold. "I get flown around a lot, believe it or not. Don't ever let Thor do it, he doesn't understand that women have different parts than men." She kind of giggles at that, shaking her head. As she's set down, she looks up at Kara and says, "Look, let me give you some advice? You gotta forgive yourself for who you are sooner or later. Don't have to forgive anyone else, but you eventually end up alone in a room with nobody around but your thoughts, and if you don't like who you are...it gets kinda rough." Cassie Lang should take that advice more herself actually. Kara Zor-El looks at Cassie. "Funny story... I actually fought this guy who was dressed up like Thor but had a horse face." Se then listens to Cassie when she gives advice, but doesnt say anyting about that. Mainly because she's pretty sure she wouldnt be able to follow that advice, however good it is. When they land in the back of the school on the football field (so as to not cause any people seeing Cassie's unusual method of arrival), she says, "Thank you for flying Supergirl airlines." She sets Cassie down. "We know you could have flown with other superheroes, but we appreciate that you chose Supergirl airlines." She smiles a little about the joke. "I really need to go to a school as well. It looks like it would be all sorts of fun." Cassie Lang shrugs, adjusting her pants a bit so her underwear isn't doing the show time thing. "They're always taking new students here, and you don't have to always be just a plane service." she says, then turns to go inside. "See you at the next event!" Then she waves and vanishes into the school, scooting in under the wire. ...almost.